10 actors who played several roles in one movie

Any of us can easily think of one or two dozen talented actors who can play anyone (and even anything). What about multiple roles in the same movie? “Yes, of course!”, You say, “There are a lot of films and TV shows where one actor plays two twins.”

And if we are not talking about twins at all, but about completely different (both externally and psychologically) personalities? This, you see, is much more difficult. But sometimes such “chips” in the cinema are simply necessary for various reasons, for example: a new plot twist requires it, or the director decided to use a non-standard artistic technique, or the film has a very limited budget (and the producer decided to save money in this way), etc.

So, in fact, situations where one actor literally “juggles” several characters at once in the same picture are not uncommon. Moreover, some people manage to “get used” to two, three or more images at the same time so much that we begin to believe that there are really different people (or not people) on the screen.

Here are 10 examples of such truly masterful transformations.

10 Michael Fassbender, Alien: Covenant | 2017

The next film of the famous franchise about alien monsters with acid instead of blood, almost invulnerable and adapting to any environment (the sixth in the Alien universe and the second in the prequel series), was released recently.

And one of the most memorable characters in it is the android David, who is fanatically obsessed with the study of Aliens and idolizes them as ideal creatures worthy not only to live, but to supplant all other existing species.

And although at first glance, David is almost completely identical to another android – Walter, they (in their “worldview”) are complete opposites.

Walter, unlike David, who considers people an endangered species, honestly serves them and tries to protect them. Both were brilliantly played by Michael Fassbender.

9. Rife Fiennes, Taste of Sunshine | 1999

In the film about the difficult fate of three generations of the Sonnenschein Jewish family, Reif Fiennes plays (and brilliantly!) just 3 characters: grandfather, father and son. Three men, whose fates are both very different and very similar at the same time, find in their character (someone earlier, and some a little later) those features that unite them: the preservation of dignity and honor under any circumstances.

Ignaz, Adam and Ivan go through many troubles, tragedies and trials: revolution, wars, concentration camps and, finally, the Hungarian uprising of 1956. All three of them, like Jews, are forced to find ways to survive in order to eventually understand that in spite of everything you need to remain true to yourself and your people.

8. Eddie Murphy, Coming to America | 1988

That’s really someone who, and Eddie Murphy loves reincarnation! And the more cardinal they are, the more pleasure the actor seems to get. Change sex, weight, age? Yes Easy! It was the case, Murphy easily changed the race! Remember at least “Norbit’s Tricks”: there he simultaneously portrayed the “nerd” Norbit, his cellulite girlfriend Raspyusha and the Chinese stepfather Mr. Wong.

And in The Nutty Professor, he played the role of the fat Professor Klump, his much thinner alter ego, as well as 7 (!) Members of the professorial family, including his grandmother. And another example – “The Vampire from Brooklyn”: here Murphy played the vampire Maximilian, the preacher Paulie and the white bandit Guido.

But, perhaps, the most favorite work of this talented comedian among the audience was the film “A Trip to America”, where Murphy, together with Arsenio Hall, played 4 roles at once! Moreover, both were transformed so cool that not every viewer immediately guessed who was in front of him on the screen at the moment.

Eddie Murphy played the African Prince Akim, Randy Watson’s Sexy Chocolate singer, Clarence the old hairdresser and his Jewish client Saul, and Arsenio Hall played Akim’s servant Sammy, Brown the Preacher, Morris the hairdresser and the ugly girl in the bar.

7. Michael Keaton, «Multiple» | 1996

At the same time, Michael Keaton played 4 roles in the film “The Many”. Its plot lies in the fact that Doug Kinney, who works in a construction company, has stopped doing anything in his life. He is an excellent family man and madly in love with his wife and daughter, but for a long time he has not had time to be with them at least a couple of hours a day, because he works all the time.

And then one day a familiar genetic scientist offers Doug a way out – cloning. When our hero has a clone, it becomes much easier for him, but Doug still has a lot to do. And then he asks for a second clone, and then a third (which comes out very “extravagant”).

And everything would be fine – now these four have time to work and take care of the family, if not for one “but”: the clones are interested in women – Doug’s colleagues and (what a horror!) His wife … All 4 characters are completely different in character, and Keaton plays them brilliantly (especially the eccentric clone), clearly enjoying himself immensely.

6. Michael J Fox, Back to the Future 2 | 1989

Many of us remember Robert Zemeckis’ iconic Back to the Future trilogy very well. Michael J. Fox (charming Marty McFly), who played the main role in it, also portrayed four characters at once in the second film – young Marty (remember how he famously rocked with a guitar on stage in 1955?), Marty aged (in 2015), as well as their future children – Marty Jr. and Marlene. (By the way, the girl from J. Fox turned out to be very pretty).

Not only did the images really come out very realistic, for the sake of their embodiment, Michael every day steadfastly endured 4-5 hours in the make-up chair. And all the scenes were filmed where several McFlys were in the frame at the same time, without computer special effects (they simply did not exist then).

Michael J Fox played each character by moving around in the frame, and then they were combined by overlaying. Hmm… It must have been fun to have a lively conversation with myself…

5. Tom Hanks, Cloud Atlas | 2012

One of the strangest and most unusual films of the last decade can safely be called Cloud Atlas, consisting of 6 stories and based on the equally extravagant book of the same name by David Mitchell.

Its main idea is that the reincarnation of the human soul still exists. Therefore, in each of the six short stories, it is as if the same people are present, but in their different incarnations.

This moment was played with the help of the same cast, passing from story to story. It should be noted that the casting for all the main roles turned out to be simply brilliant: such stars as Tom Hanks played in Cloud Atlas (6 roles, and all were completed at least 120% out of 100%), Holy Berry (6 roles , also played simply masterfully), Hugo Weaving (4 roles, the characters are very diverse and all, as a selection, are very unpleasant), etc.

According to most film critics (and, in fact, the audience), the main “highlight” of the film was the incredible Tom Hanks (by the way, he partially financed this picture, because he was delighted with the script).

4. Noomi Rapace, “The Secret of the Seven Sisters” | 2017

And in this film, Swedish actress Noomi Rapace had to play seven twin sisters at once. According to the plot, in the already overpopulated totalitarian world of the future, it is allowed to have no more than one child in one family.

But the Setman couple have 7 girls at once. Their mother dies, and their father decides to hide the truth from the government: according to the official version, he has only one daughter, Karen. And the sisters spend their whole lives at home, going out only once a week each: on a day that is consonant with their name – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.

They perfectly know how to play the role of the same person – Karen Settman. But one day Monday did not return from work. It is up to the other sisters to find out what happened to her… Rapace transformed from one sister to another with a simple change of dress and make-up. But here are seven characters (the sisters are completely different), she played very selflessly and very reliably.

3. Tatyana Maslany, “Dark Child” | 2013-2017

Canadian actress Tatyana Maslany was even more “lucky” – she had a chance to play numerous clones of a girl named Sarah Manning in the series “Dark Child” for 5 years (there were more than 14 of them, including one man, and each, of course, had its own own character traits, facial expressions, gestures, speech, etc.).

It all started with the fact that Sarah became an accidental witness to the suicide of a girl who resembled herself in every detail (detective Elizabeth Childs) and, deciding to take the opportunity and rob the bank account of the deceased, appropriated her identity “for a while”, which, of course, led to behind a lot of problems.

In general, the series raises the problem of the moral side of human cloning. For this work, Tatyana Maslany received a well-deserved Emmy award (in 2016).

2. James McAvoy, Split | 2016

And another “many-faced” actor is the incredibly talented and charismatic Briton James McAvoy. In the film “Split” he played only one role, but – at once 24 personalities (often not just dissimilar, but also directly opposite).

The thing is that his character – Kevin Crumb – has a dissociative disorder (it is also a multiple split) of personality. That is, the whole company “gets along” in it at once: from 9-year-old Hedwig, nervous Dennis and pleasant Patricia to a “repulsed” psychopath named Beast.

The film itself was perceived by the audience rather coolly, but McAvoy’s very complex and delightfully believable game earned high marks from both ordinary moviegoers and professional critics. By the way, the plot of “Split” is based on the very real story of the American Billy Milligan, described in the documentary novel by Daniel Keyes.

1. Cate Blanchett, «Manifesto» | 2015

The gorgeous Cate Blanchett needs no introduction either. Recently, she again proved to the entire cinema world that she is able to surprise with her talent again and again, playing 13 heroines in one film at once, each of which (in her own way) talks about life, freedom, politics, art, love and death. etc. A teacher, a housewife, a widow, a tramp and other ladies are not at all alike.

And if the content of the film may seem boring to people far from art, then the virtuoso transformation of Cate Blanchett in each new story is something fantastic! She is said to have spent 6 hours in the make-up chair for each take. Heroic actress!